The Sun. — London, England, 1810-08-28 00:00:00

movie's issued by the Treasury for services, other loan those before stated, should be accounted for, to the Auditors of Public Acc.nsnts. In the course of this Report, several remarks have incidentally been made on the forms of ac counts and of er mattrrs of official piattice, as well as on the mode cif keeping the different ledgers and books, itud other subjects of internal reaulatioto— These, your Committee apprehend, might be . in-, treated to the Commissionerst hemselves to regulate; and they recommend, therefor : is', that their sugges tions upon these points may be referred for consi deration and adoption to hie Auditors. Your Committee also recommend, that, it be re• ferret' to the Auditors in Ike manner to revise and consolidate the several Aes which 'have been passed relative to the examination and audit of the public accounts, and to prepare and frame the draft of a Bill, with such amendments as the suggestions con taitied in this . Report shall call for, and any other th t Tay' appear to theM to be essential towards fa c litating aad expediting the examination and audit of accoures: suds Bill to be submitted far adoption or correetion to a Committee of the House in the next, Session .ot Parliament. Your Committee further propose, that a copy of the annual report of the state of the public ac counts made by the auditors to the Lords of the Treasury, on or betore the 3 ist of March in every year, pursuant to the Treasury %%arrant of the or h October, 1 sofi, shoifd be in future annually laid before the House of Commons; and that such an= . no - 4 repent should contain short notices of any feiire,entatinni on official abuses or irregularities which the . Board may have made (and ought - in' all cases to make)` to the Treasury during the preced ing' veal, together with a statement of any mea sates whits may have been taken or proceedings had in consequence of such representation. - For the purpose of shewing the progress made in the current :accounts, and the state of arrear accounts itt the Audit Office, your Ganunittee recommend a -re%;:Si n and alteration of the form in which the lists of accounts accompanying the. annual reports of the Board have been hitherto &awn up. These lis , s,.. which appear to be framed confOrmably to the Treasury instruJions, are much longer, • more minute ai d detailed, than there appears to be any occasion for, the satne iotorication, being contained in the list of accounts annually laid before Parlia ment, u:.dar 42 Geo. 111. C. 70. and printed. in the finance accornit's of every year. Your Co tirnioee apprehend that another and a better mode of strew , log the adual. State: of the public accounts, might without difficulty be devised, in which the progress made in the current accounts, and the exact arrear of such accounts, together with the causes of the arrear, might be . ascertaineo by immediate inspec tion. Such a Stateineet ould contain real and important information with regard to the state of accounts in the Audit Office, and might with great propriety be substituted for the form now iq use. With this view, it would be - advi-able that the Com inissioners of Au lit should be itistruCtech to frame such a form of return as: would in their judgrnet convey to the House the best information of the progress made in -the examination and audit of ac counts in the leait praCticable compass. Your Committee are unwilling to conclude their remarks upon the system of auditing and examin ing the Public Accounts, without adverting to their visit at the Audit Office, a report of which is subjoined in the Appendix, and the general tenor of the various doeuments which have been received from that Beard ; (tons the whole of which it ap pears, that notwithstanding the defeels which have been noticed , in the original constitution of that de partment, and of the formation of the new esta blishment in 1806, the present Commissioners are, in many respeets; entitled to commendation. For the reasons which have been stated, their investiga..- Coto of Official 'abuses and irregularities has been partial and limited, but several very useful -reports hive been made by themunder - the Treasury .in• structions, and considerable advantages derived from some of their suggesth;ns. They also appear, in various instances, to have' abridged, and other wise •improved, the process of examination, and making up accounts in their office.. The requisition and delivery of accounts has become snore expeditious and regular ; the proceedings tor the recovery_ of balanCes have be - en pursued with effed ; and an Ad, containing Several useful provisions,w as bi ought in at the suggestion of the Commissioners. in the year 1807, chiefly for the purpose of mote effec tually charging accountants with interest upon balanees. The minute books and general pro deedings of the office likewise appeared to the Gomtnittee to be kept in a satisfaCtory and regular manner, very creditable to the officers at the head of those depaitments. • How far the number of accounts examined by the present Auditors has increased in a due propor tion to the increase of establishment, is difficult to ascertain ; but there is reason to believe that the progress of the new Board in the examination of Artear Ordinary AcCounts has been considerable.— .I,t is, however, to be apprehended, that ais arrear iii the examination 'of the Current Accounts has been 'gradually accruing, - and an , alteration in the trraligen:cnt of the business of the office has lately been et - leered, with a view of rreventing such arrear from increasing. Whtther thii arrangement will prOve effectual ior the purpose, remains matter only of conjecture. Your Committee are disposed to entertaiti considerable doubts with respect to the 'Success of the plan, and recommend an inquiry into the state of the arrear at an early period of the next Se;sion of Parliament. A separation of the Cur rent from, the Arrear Accounts appears to have been, one of the best features of the new constitu tion of the office in 1806 ; and your Committee, with a view., effeaually to accomplish this object, are induced to recommend, that when the second Subd vision Board shall have been removed to So merset-place, ihe arrear ot Ordinary as well as Ex traordinary Accounts, should be allotted for exarni • nation to that 'Board, hick, it found necessary,. might receive the assistance of a few additional' nu- pernutneray clerks; and that special care be taken to keep t e,taniislinient of the first Subdivision and upon a to..mig, in point of 'efficiency, ,ade quate to all the pi,tposes of keepiil down arre.irs the„.CIalllillat1011 and audit of the current Ac. coubts, ordinary as well as extraordinary, of the kingdom. Your Committee have omitted to notice a cu. cumsta ce arising out of the e, idence Of Mr. Har rison, which ought to have great weight whenever the compensations to be granted to the Excheqvr officers; in lieu of fees uponyassing accounts, shall come to be considered. It appears from Mr. Har rison's statement, that the accounts examined and settled by the Treasury, or by the Comptrollers of Army accounts, are not passed through the Excite quer Offices, and therefore not made liable to any other fees ; than the fees upon the issue of the mo ney. iii - oar this circumstance, doubts .may not un reasonably be entertained with , regard to any pre scriptive or ,inherent right on the.part of the officers of the Exchequer, through whose departments the public accounts are . made to pass, to the fees claimed by them., • Your Committee are aware, that these fees are claimed upon the accounts audited they the Commis sioners as imp:est monies ; but the right exercised, by the Treasury of withdraWing, in certain caw§,. the accounts of monies imprested for public services from the interference of the Exchequer, by direa ing a particular mode of accounting for the expen- . diture, sufficiently demonstrates the power vested in , that department over the emoluments of the officers in question. i• To skew more distinOly tlie nature of these fees, and that they are levied by no -fixed and determined rules, your Committee have annexed to this Report an account of all Parliamentary grants issued for building and completing the new v. ing of the British Museum; from which account it appears, that the fees taken by the Exchequer upon the first vote of 8,0001. amounted to 4101. 3s. 6d.; upon tte,second sum of 8,0001. only to 2101. Bs. 6 t. ; upon the vote of 7,5001. in the ensuing year, to 81. 13s. 6d.; .and upon the last vote of .5,2701. the fees•were again raised to 2.721." 15s. 6d. From the late period of the sessions at which this document was received; your Committee have not been able to inquire into .the cause 'of this apparent irregularity; but it ap pears to them to afford a strong a.Jditional proof of the capricious, and almost accidental manner, in which fees'appear to be taken,\and charged to the public. As a further illustratism of, this part of the sub jedf, an important passige occurs in a letter from the - Auditors to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, to the following effect :—" That the pub lic has !•u:,taitted'a considerable loss by the_clause of exemption (tom payment of fees, at toe Exchequer arid Treasury ; having been omitted in sonic of the Aels, by which several of the sums issued to tire Accountant were appropriated to the service before mentioned." There are instances of the appropriation of seve ral large sums of . money in the annual Acts, and pirieular:y in that of the last Session, 49 Geo. 111. c. 12g, which are directed to be issued and paid without any fee or other deduction whatsoever, viz. 400,0001. for subsidy to his Sicilian Maje , t) ; 300,0001. to the King of Sweden ; 600,0001. to the Prince Regent.ot Portugal; 16,9751. for the Royal Military College;. 23,3501. for the Royal Military Asylum; 47,6501. and 13,2151. for paying off . cer tain 5 per cent. Annuities; 13,47 tl., for securing docks, &c. at Portsmouth ; 10,0u01. tor' Roads and Bridges in Scotland ; 50,0001. for making an In land Navigation ; 100,0001. issued to the GoVer nors of Queen Anne's Bounty ; 4,5001. to the Com missioners for the New 'Forest e 5,5691. for the I\llilitary Itoadh in Scotland. Where a discretionary power has been exercised by the House in So many cases, for the sole purpose of saving fees upon the issue of money, and by the Commissioners of the Treasury 'leen auditing various accounts of expenditure, there seems to be no rea son against giving such fnrther latitude to this prac 7 tice‘ as a just attention to economy may warrant. The legal claims of individuals who are Interested in the continuance of fees, will undoubtedly deserve consideratiou ; but it must be recollected, that all official situations are liable to the 'regulations, fluc tuations, and changes , which are incidental to office, and that no forms of issuing money, or of auditing 'accounts, which ate become inconvenient or burdensome to the public, ought to be kept up for the mere purpose of private emolument. The only 'remaining objeet 'which your Committee have, as it occurs to them, omitted to notice in the course of the Report, is the apparently useless ac cumulation of vouchers in the Office of the Avail tors of Public Accounts, particularly of Bank Di vidend Warrants, which it appears to be the prac tice of the Office never to destroy, and which have of course increased to a degree extremely inconve nient to the Officers of that department. Your Committee seeing no necessity or poetical utility of keeping vouchers tor an unlimited series of years, suggest to the House the propriety of allowing the Auditors to destroy all vouchers 'upon declared ac counts of a date anterior to the,year 1795 ; and that they be required for the future to keep such vouch ers for fifteen years only subsequent to the issue of the quietus tolhe Accountant. With respect to the delivery and acknowledgment of vouchers, consi derable difficulty at present prevails, and 'much en necessary labour appears from the present mode of transacting that business, to be given to the intetior officers of the Auditors' department ; but as your Committee understand that the subject of Vienna ing and simplifying this proceeding is under the colis:- deration of wine. part of the Executive Govern in conjunaion with the Auditors, they 11,ive not thought it necessary to investigate it further. The 6th, 7th, Bth, and gth'Reports, of the Com mittee upon ihe Public. Expenditure of the flailed Kingdom, have also been printed. They compete the whole of the. Reports on this subjezt ordered to be, printed in the last Session of Pdthdtllent. Here follows a copy of the Return, With ob servations of the Committee upon it, in which the tardy mode of delivering the assessments is as , igned as a principal cause of the deficiency ; and the Corn! mitree recommend that means may be taken for the more speedy colledtion of the revenue in that, part of the United Kingdom ; and that etfeetual means ought to'be taken for ascertaining the true value of its landed property. TEM SEN7ENTII . REPORT Relates to public buildings, civil and THE sixTur REPORT • Relates to the collettioti of taxes in Scotland. It sets out with stating, that the wtioie amount of Properry Tax collected and paidinto the Exchequer in Scotland, tor the year ending the stll ofJanuary, 1809, is stated to be. only 3 taj,7otil. net, and 321;6171.,gr05i. In consequence 'of - this . apparent deficiency, the Committee inquired into the collec non cf 111;is'tax, and it became necessary io send for a state of the arrears of Assessed Tails and Property Tax: in Scotland:"' LUA D U TUP.SDAY, ArGUST ( .28, 1810. Captain STAckPoLE, of the Toni:mut, arrived yes terday at Portsmouth from Cadiz, and reached the Admiralty last night. He brings an account of .the temoval of seven Spanish ships of war from the har bour of Cadiz, by:the'authority .of the CounCil of Regency ; four of them have been sent to Port Ma llon, two are gone to the Spanish *est . l.ndks, and one is to be brought to this country. ,The Duke of MANCHESTER, we understand, ar rived yesterday in this country, from his Government of Jamaica. It'is not true, as stated in a Morning Paper, that General CRAUFURD is_put under arrest, nor that the loss in the late affair in which he commanded, was 500 men. The loss amounted to exactly whit we stated in our account of that affair, and which Via% afterwards confirmed by the Gazette. Path Papers reached town yesterday to the i gth, and Haraburgh Papers to the 1 6th instant. The progress of the Ex-King of Sweden to the North has been suddenly stopped. He arrived at Berlin on the 3d instant, and after staying a few hours set off on his return to Switzerland. The Hamburgh Papers contain a long official ac count from Petersburgh, of the operations of the Russian army; but this detail does not reach to a later date than the 22d of June. We are still, therefore, left in a state of uncertainty respeEting the battle stated to have been fought between► the Rus sian and Turkish armies in the beginning of July, in which the former were defeated. The intelligence from Naples, in the French Papers is of the 26th ult. at 'which period no attack had been attempted-on Sicily. The Paris Papers also contain a variety of official details from Spain, decidedly proving that the French troops are fully employed in the most san guinary conflias ,with those who„ if we were to be lieve the former French official accounts, were long since piat hors de combat. NAPOLEON titidi himself compelled to publish at intervals, some details respeaing the Peninsula, and :n doing so he invariably proves, beyond the possi bility of doubt, that his korner boasts of annihilating the patriot hosts of Spain, were merely pompous falsehoods. Some insinuations having appeared in the Public Prints against the Portuguese troops, and private rumours of the' same nature being in circulation, we teel great pleasure in assuring our Realers that these reports are utterly de.titute of foundation. The st regiment of Portuguese Chasseurs, under the ih command of Brig.-General CAMPI3II6,, cOlidl;' th,mselves not only ~ with the utmost , steadineili`j resolution, btu such was their zeal, that it vv 3s '' ib' opd solutely difficult to recall them, ,whe,§ it was l ° 7 necessary to check their efforts against the enea'Y' The answer of the French Ruler to the ultilv 3l at the _British Government, respe6ting a chang e t ' t prisoners ws, expected - to:be'given on the 1511 i Paris ; hut has net fet been received in this collotrY' Yesterday'Morning hMAJESTY, is Princesse s GUSTA and SOL'HIA, accompanied by Lady ncrals Frrzao WYNYARD,- and . Colonels ,A . and DE3l3liow,‘ took- their usual ntorning's the Great Park, iwelQ tW QUEEN and PrincesS I.LIZABETti, took an airl Fioginore, ' . Sunday morning, his MAJESTY, and the Pri" f y cesses AUGUSTA and SOPHfA, accompanied 0 Y ~,14 dies Et., COLLIER, and 80 , THEY, and G-ne l '•• i'ITZROY and WNYAED; We. , I to St. G e- "v; Chapel, and heard a vrniOn preached by the ~„ NORTIILY. Atter wArds returned to 01'2' , , _ , lace. fait , , Princess AMELIA is sill con sidered in a • of .recoveLy. - . A letter from Lisbon, dated • Augu•t '')' 2 E MASEN.I. has . not only declined' ad. al.ofiG ," ; ; there are reports,: winch . gain rery g n arl c" - ' with the army, that I , e is in lull retreat. Va'``' i. ,j cariss are assigned for this : scat city of pro: isi ,tis, great desertion, disaireet ion ut • We reigners in his army, an d s i c k„,... ss. taw the tooitali!y in the Frelich,army nas for a I° ' ') .' time been prodigious. • Lord WELLINGTON's - -arnli is in • the • (wall!' and spirits. Tiw.atixiety tor,,an w,th MAssE6iA's army' was general among our fellows. Lord ‘VELLINGTuN certainlv.oncenac r tj MASSENA MASsENA as certainlY..dec"' : ' the oiler. " The English army was in a most healthy effecaive . 'htitv. -Provisions and vegetables INcr`' ttt great abundance.. For the first tirne, t.;e sariatwas the best depiriti eut in tins - arri'Y' - very popular. " The average amitrli.r of deserter:. r Frercb army is from 9u to • lon a a ir: the oold . but for the Portiagie , .'" v i i-It J wlienevzr ..t ney . tee any tii. , ng an. the shopo; Frenchman, w allow , met cy dispatch him. ter many who wool I come in. -• • " In some lite .arrairii - Loid•l-lAncotiaT's 11° ,•: regiment, the aitia Dragoons, he , aved tis Made priSoistri 50110.• orP.VONAPARTZS fa' '`'' regiment, ins Ist Drailoons. - LETTEII,.SAME DATE. / " The news from the combined at ITi satisfactory. y(r. st.e.by B ERE , Foni i 6 deo ) 4 `; ` „ 1 1 that the Portug. ese do their duty.in.th• fiCjilf 0/J that the inhabitants retire trom ever) • ••11ce , Njo appro;,ch 01 the Ftench. W are a; , ?,t . n ed Lb, SENA'S Sid: exceed 24,000, and that he lies t al l t iot retrograde movement. - -If ih prove - inv.; ROMANA tan join MEN.DtzABAL 'and ,BAL: o.° „ A itt itgainst 'Seville, General GNAHANI nct IE inactive in the Isla de Leon, and you'n:ati ile ;11.81". tidings before o,:ipber is ow, ~ L eat "1 si our people are wye they will let he • the the season'thin tile ranks of the enemy remainder of .this mooth, and' the:nest, o u tall upon them in every direction. Thu rea`o"' upon the state of the Peninsula- in a few wi' 1 1 36 , 3 4 this French, have brought • to bear a ' 11 .:,,5e troops as they can subsist in the country, ot , a ,r, are not evidently • sufficient to subjed.it. therefore, give up their point bungre Ina, '' :1 1 and I dare say that 'BONY will be vez y g lad 01.. ' pretext to get out of the sCr.ipe. " Every clay incieases the hatred of the 113 eit and with it their means of re si stance , and" 3 ' , i t D / confidence in thethselveS is strengifienedi - i , the FrenCh, in their resources, is weakened." ANOTHER LETTER SAME DATE. ". The news iron) our a, my is most faVoilt3 The French have retired from Pinh e l and Trati c i °s : l C and Lord Wi WELLINGTON'S head quarters are l y/ Celorico. The Gallegos are all gone home, in° dieuce to the directions of the Junta of 'Corti n° ,, o l their departure is 4ttended with great and gen inconvenience. " Exclusive of the war contributi on I fo— erlf mentioned, we are Called on f o r ano ther for " 0 , payment of the peace with Algiers, .and for the-I l d sum of the captives. These are irresistible calls, a must' be borne with patience." . , • t o' • The desertions from the FrenCh army b c, we are told, to be su numerous th a t ; oi neLdioh -Li is experienced in providing: fur the desertcr' er Bill of Exchange was yesterday r e ce i v ed by ~' chant, drawn - for a sum exceeding 30001. the arl i° 'fbf of w hich (as expressed' in the boy of the bin) ' 5 of the . maintenance, support and cloathing et . de„ t l;i f il) from. the-army of the.enemy, t a k e n in t o the D r - 01 and Spanish service. The bill is d ra wn by G ' ' °- Doyt.t, atTarrag . The. Mancini, Captain Sr A cKPO L s, arrive r iii e Portsmouth . yesterday rriOlnug, w i th •clitiF itc b .from the Comtnanddr of the Brit)sh stluoch ° ,l l 01 Ca&z. She brings inteli s e n c e , we understand' of the sailing of the whose of. 'the Spanish war in that . harbour to Minorca. They ANer i r t ' l ct companied -by the filahe and Aorge. Five s'itt o , the line ,anal one frigate came out with the nava ;- the oilers were to follow in a day or 0 '1 ( . 0 Si: RICHARD KEATS had arrived at Cadiz and ad the command of our squadr o n. F o r * 6 111 e - 1 04 previous to the sailing of' th e Yon na nt there v or been much tiring trout the en e my' s b a tteries.' ,1t visions, we understand, were : very dear in of Leon, but the place was ".C o n si d ere d iffiq,;4l nAble; Two Spanish' line of battle :,hips for South America. The tilts paicnos for tllv Marquis WELI:ES EY. 13 314 1 ht.! Poi•tEgti se , )f war in tho been put utiticr the culuttirl..6.6t ho • has also au thori ty civer the arser i t ils auLi yards. . . THE EIGHTH REPORT Relates to the Linen Board of Ireland 5 in which it points out several irregularities : ainbng which it complains, " that almost one-third part of .the re- Venues intrusted to alit care 01 this Board,: amount ing bet:veen January 1800 ' and 1810, too a sum of 6e,8641; has been,eXpended in the department of the architect; and of this sum, 4„7271. in painting, plaiNtering, and papering, at the Linen Hall, -and the Officers' Houses :" and there appear further, in the 36th Report of the Commissioners of Imprest Accounts, other-sums disbursed for furniture; car- pets, chimney and pier glasses, &c. for the bou.,e the ChaMberlain of the Linen Hall. The Report concludes with slating, that the ComMittee are of opinion that the concerns intrusted to the Board are not well administered, and that it would be advisable" 'to seek fur the means of correction in the revival of certain 'wholesome proviisons which accompanied the original establishment. of the tßoard, viz. That the number of trustees necessary to form a meeting should be seven—that the meetings hie monthly—that no building be undertaken of • above 201. expence, without a previous estimate, sanc tioned by a full Board—and that there be Sub-Com tilittees to superintend the severalbraricfies, THE NINTH REPURT Relates to Public Piloting and Stationary, and ob serves, that " although the total charge is increas. ing,, as well as considerable, am:noting, in the United Kingdom, to more than 300,0001. they ti el hat it is difficult to suggest any means of materidly restraining it ; 'but, since a large and very wowing part of the expenditure arises ftoin . the businesS of Parliament itself,. they consider the subject as pe - eu , liAy fit for the Cognizance of the House. MAILS. AR XIV ID-1 Dublin, t ‘Vaterford. Luz --1 Cadiz, bon, ► Watettord. I'ItICI UI STOCK S• THIS DAY AT TWNLV II O'CLOCK. Cursols 63a U►nnium fli L S li SOLENT QUIS IIICSR/L PALSUM AUDEAT ?